Note: GRUB Legacy has been deprecated and replaced by GRUB2 in Arch Linux. See the news here. GRUB2 also offers enhanced graphical capabilities, such as background images and bitmap fonts. Users are recommended to switch to GRUB2 or Syslinux instead. See [[Grub#Upgrading to GRUB(2)]] below.

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After the installation check /boot/grub/menu.lst. Edit it accordingly to match the boot entries in your backup. If you failed to create your own backup, look for /boot/grub/menu.lst.pacsave. You could also just overwrite your backup copy over the new menu.lst and proceed to the configuration below.

Configuration

The only change in configuration is the addition of the splashimage line. In the default /boot/grub/menu.lst you will see the following:

Otherwise, you will simply be adding the last line to your existing menu.lst. This line will point to the image you want to use as the background during your boot selection screen.

Note: This line is relative to GRUB's root partition, meaning if you have your own /boot partition, the above should read:

splashimage /grub/splash.xpm.gz

Finally, it is necessary to (re)install GRUB to overwrite your current GRUB installation or bootloader. Please read GRUB if you have no experience doing this. On a fairly "standard" install this would mean executing something like:

# grub-install /dev/sda

But remember to adjust according to your system.

Splash images

Splash images have to be .xpm.gz file type, 640x480, and only 14 colors.

To install a new splash image, copy the image to the GRUB directory (i.e. /boot/grub/) then update your menu.lst to point to the image. No need to reinstall GRUB; just reboot and you should see the new image.

Troubleshooting

Black screen; no menu; blinking prompt

You should still be able to select an OS and boot from this screen. Once you are back into your system check your menu.lst file again. Ensure the path to your splash screen is correct. Remember, splashimage line is relative to GRUB's root partition. If you have GRUB on its own /boot partition, the line will read splashimage /grub/splash.xpm.gz. Then remember to make sure you actually have the splash screen you wish to use in that directory.